Woodland wrestling bringing dynasties back

A burnt orange T-shirt proclaiming their Tri-County Conference championship adorned each Woodland High School wrestler on Wednesday night. The Wolves opened the box containing the shirts while still in the Pioneer gym following a 44-22 win over the Patriots that captured Woodland's third straight dual-meet league title.

What would coach Jess Hernandez have done with the shirts had his squad lost?

"I'd have burned 'em," he said in the parking lot after the meet.

The way Hernandez figured, having a set of victory shirts pressed and ready for the face-off with Pioneer would instill some confidence in the Wolves.

The coach made clear that he did not "want to rub anything in anybody's face." But the stunt seemed to work -- just as it has the first two years of his career at Woodland, when he's prepared for a league-ending meet which would determine the TCC crown in that same way.

In a town that focuses intently on baseball and prides itself on football, Hernandez has helped bring wrestling back to the forefront.

The enthusiastic coach has been at the helm just three years, but already has assembled a staff he called "the best group of assistant coaches that Woodland wrestling has ever had."

Furthermore, he's empowered his wrestlers to believe in themselves.

"I told these kids, this group that's now juniors, when they were freshman, that it looked to me that if they stuck together and worked hard, we could at least win (the TCC) four times in a row," Hernandez said. "Woodland hadn't won even a league title in a dozen years but ... I could see into the future, the next four years anyway, and I could see it should be us four years in a row.

"I told them that, and so far it's playing out."

Hernandez's path is thus a mold Patriots coach Brandon Monroe should try to fit. A recent Pioneer High graduate himself, Monroe led his team to a second-place finish this season, only losing to Woodland.

"I'm fine," Monroe said, standing on the mat following the loss. "Four-and-1 in my first year coaching, I look at it as a big accomplishment."

It's a feat only trumped by the way Hernandez started his career at Woodland, by winning the TCC title. Three straight years of such success show the competitive fire Hernandez has in him. Though he touted his coaching staff, he's often quick to say there have been many better wrestling head coaches in Woodland.

But soak it in coach, it's time to start praising yourself. After all, this is the first time in nearly 20 years that the Wolves have three-peated. Earlier Wednesday Hernandez liked that his Woodland team was about to "match a little school history" by accomplishing what the 1992-94 Wolves did in winning their league for three consecutive seasons.

No need to turn the burnt orange shirts into a different kind of burnt orange. Instead, Hernandez should whip out a cigar and make like Red Auerbach.

Daniel Mano Herberholz is a sports reporter for The Daily Democrat. He can be reached at dherberholz@dailydemocrat.com or on Twitter at @DanielManoHerb